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Southwest Candy Potato Mac & Cheese (Vegan!)

October 6, 2022

14 6 minutes read

Candy Potato Mac and Cheese is the right manner to make use of up any leftover baked candy potatoes you might have available. This dairy-free model has a Southwestern flare, to assist make it extra of a whole meal, with black beans, inexperienced chilies, and a creamy candy potato sauce.

vegan sweet potato mac and cheese in white pot.

Why You’ll Love It

It’s nut-free. In contrast to my well-known Vegan Mac n’ Cheese recipe, this model will get its creaminess from candy potatoes as an alternative of cashews. The velvety sauce is lighter, and correctly mixed for individuals who comply with meals combining rules.

It’s loaded with taste. To assist stability out the sweetness of the candy potato, this cheese sauce has further spice added in, like onion and chili powders. The dietary yeast provides a contact of tacky taste, however you’ll be able to depart it out and nonetheless have a scrumptious meal!

It’s filling. The black beans add further fiber and protein to this dish, so it’s way more filling than a conventional aspect of mac n’ cheese.

It’s wholesome. This candy potato mac n’ cheese is a good way to squeeze extra greens into your day. The sauce doesn’t style like candy potato!

It’s allergy pleasant. This recipe is of course dairy-free, and whenever you use gluten-free pasta, it may be gluten-free, too.

Substances You’ll Want

sweet potato mac and cheese ingredients labeled in glass bowls.

What’s in Candy Potato Mac n’ Cheese?

Baked candy potatoes
Macaroni noodles
Lemon juice
Dietary yeast (non-compulsory)
Black Beans
Inexperienced Chilies
Diced tomatoes
Salt & pepper

The Southwest spices, like chili powder, onion powder, and cumin assist disguise the candy potato taste. It’s excellent for any non-sweet potato followers in your life! (Most of my style testers didn’t imagine there wasn’t cheddar cheese on this recipe.)

For the most effective texture, I like to recommend searching for small macaroni noodles, since pasta all the time doubles or triples in measurement when it’s cooked. The smaller noodles make it simpler to get a bit of little bit of every thing in every chunk.

Learn how to Make Candy Potato Mac & Cheese

1. Prepare dinner the pasta.

Fill a big saucepan with water and add a tablespoon of sea salt. Deliver the liquid to a boil, then prepare dinner the pasta till it’s tender, based on the instructions on the bundle. Small noodles could prepare dinner in as little as 5 minutes, however bigger noodles may have 10 minutes or extra.

Drain the noodles and set them apart till you’re able to assemble the ultimate dish.

Observe: When you haven’t baked the candy potato but, wash and dry the potato and pierce it a number of instances with a knife to assist it vent. Place the potato on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400ºF for 45 to 60 minutes, relying on how giant the potato is. When it’s tender, take away it from the oven and let it cool.

2. Mix the sauce.

When you anticipate the water to come back to a boil and for the pasta to prepare dinner, you can begin including the sauce elements to a blender. Add within the candy potato, water, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, chili powder, and floor cumin.

Mix till very clean, then set it apart.

sweet potato mac and cheese sauce in blender.

3. Combine all of it collectively.

To complete the dish, add a can of drained & rinsed black beans, inexperienced chilies, and drained diced tomatoes to the identical pot that you simply used to prepare dinner the pasta.

Stir over medium-high warmth, till the elements are heat, then stir within the pasta and cheese sauce.

beans, chilies, and tomatoes added to pasta and cheese sauce.

As soon as every thing is heated by means of, style and modify any seasoning. You could want so as to add a bit of further salt, till the pasta combination tastes flavorful.

Serve heat, with freshly topped cilantro on prime.

Leftover candy potato mac and cheese will be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.

sweet potato mac & cheese topped with cilantro in white pot.

Widespread Questions and Substitutions

Can I add actual cheese to this dish? After all! When you’re not vegan or cooking for these with dairy allergy symptoms, you’ll be able to definitely stir in some shredded cheese to this recipe. I’d suggest transferring the recipe to a casserole dish and topping it with cheese, for extra of a baked casserole. Bake it within the oven at 400ºF for 10 minutes, to assist soften the cheese, after which serve it heat.

Do I’ve to make use of dietary yeast? Nope, this dish will nonetheless be scrumptious with out it! The yeast does assist add a tacky taste, but it surely’s not the star of the present.

How do I bake candy potatoes? Preheat the oven to 400ºF and scrub the candy potatoes to take away any grime. Dry them properly, then pierce a number of instances with a fork or knife, to assist the potatoes vent. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake till they’re tender, about 60 minutes, relying on the dimensions of the potato. It’s a great signal if juices begin to drizzle out of the potato and caramelize on the pan.

Southwest Candy Potato Mac & Cheese

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 20 minutes

Whole Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Gear

Substances

8 ounces elbow noodles
1 (15 oz.) can black beans , drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes , drained
1 (4 oz.) can diced inexperienced chilies
recent cilantro , for garnish

Candy Potato Cheese Sauce

½ cup baked candy potato (mashed)
¾ cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons dietary yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon superb sea salt , plus extra to style
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon floor cumin

Directions

In a big pot, deliver 8 cups of water to a boil over excessive warmth and add a tablespoon of salt. As soon as the water is boiling, add within the pasta and prepare dinner till it is tender, based on the instructions on the bundle, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Whereas the pasta is cooking, make the candy potato sauce by including the potato, water, olive oil, dietary yeast, lemon juice, salt, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin to a high-speed blender. Mix till very clean, then set it apart.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and set it apart. To the identical giant pot, add within the drained beans, tomatoes, and inexperienced chilies. (No want to empty the chilies.) Stir over medium-high warmth till they’re heat, then add within the cooked pasta, cheese sauce, and an additional ½ teaspoon of salt.
Stir once more till every thing is piping scorching, and modify the seasoning to style. I often add one other ½ teaspoon of salt, however the ultimate taste is as much as you– simply do not be shy concerning the salt, if you’d like a flavorful dish. Serve with freshly chopped cilantro on prime. Leftovers will be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 week. (They’re even scrumptious chilled for a packed lunch!)

Notes

Vitamin data is for 1 of 4 servings. This data is mechanically calculated, and is simply an estimate, not a assure.
To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure you use a gluten-free pasta.
This recipe was up to date in October 2022. For the unique cheese sauce recipe, you’ll find it straight within the weblog publish beneath the printable recipe. (However this new model is healthier, so I hope you’ll strive it!)

Vitamin

Energy: 382kcal, Carbohydrates: 72g, Protein: 18g, Fats: 5g, Saturated Fats: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g, Monounsaturated Fats: 3g, Sodium: 1115mg, Potassium: 796mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 2565IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 104mg, Iron: 6mg

Replace Observe: This recipe was up to date in October 2022, to embrace the Southwest taste of the sauce and make it extra of a whole meal. Whereas the sauce recipe hasn’t modified a lot, right here’s the unique model, for those who want it.